City-level SCP Initiatives
towards SDG: Urban Resource
Flows and Governance ofInfrastructure Transitions

Read by: Prof. (Anthony) SF Chiu
University Fellow, De La Salle University, Manila
Member, International Resource PanelINTERNATIONAL POLICY NEEDS A SCIENCE BASE
The international resource
panel was created in 2007 asa science-policy interface in
responding to economic
growth, escalating use ofnaturalresourcesanddeteriorating
environmentand climate change.

Climate Change
Biodiversity Loss
Hazardous Substances

IPCC

IPBES

Assessments underthe Basel
Convention

Ozone Depletion

Montreal Protocol’s
ScientificAssessments

Resource EfficiencyInternationalResource Panel IRP

SDGs DIRECTLY DEPENDENT ON
NATURAL RESOURCESIN THE RECENT MONTHS …

Domestic Extraction in Different WorldRegions

Figure 19 shows the shares ofseven world regions in global
domestic extraction of materials.
Figure 19 Domestic extraction (DE) by seven subregions, 1970–2010, million tonnes

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GLOBAL MATERIAL FLOWS ANDRESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY (1970-2010)• Consumption has been stronger driver of growth in material use that
population growth• Since 2000 material efficiency has declined - global economy needs
more materials per unit of GDP. Production has shifted from material
efficient countries to countries that have lower material efficiency• The richest countries consume on average 10 times more materials asthe poorest• The level of well-being achieved in wealthy industrial countries
cannot be generalised globally based on the same system ofproduction and consumption

Drivers of Material Use- Population
and Consumption
In Figure 43 we see thattheacceleratingurbanization
andindustrialization of theAsia-Pacificregion’sdeveloping
economies
greatly increased A there,and also drove major
increases in MI as theeconomic centre of gravity
shifted further towards
less resource efficienteconomies.

Figure 43 Drivers of net change in domestic material consumption between
2000 and 2010 for World regions: population, affluence, and material
intensity

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OVERALL DECLINE IN MATERIAL EFFICIENCY• Global economy now needs more materials per unit of GDP than it did at

the turn of the century• This has been caused by large shift of economic activity from morematerial-efficient economies such as Japan, the Republic of Korea andEurope to the much less material-efficient economies of China, India andSoutheast Asia

Figure 7. Material intensity by development status and global material intensity, 1970–2010

THE LEVEL OF WELL-BEING ACHIEVED IN WEALTHY INDUSTRIAL
COUNTRIES CANNOT BE GENERALIZED GLOBALLY BASED ON THE
SAME SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

If current systems ofproduction and provision
for major services will not
be changed, nine billion
people would require about
180 billion tonnes ofmaterials annually by 2050,
almost three times today’samounts
Figure 6. Per-capita material footprint (MF) by seven world regions, 1990 and 2010,tonnes

Cities and natural resource use• 80% of global GDP
produced on just 2% of
the land surface.
• 60-80 % of global
energy consumption• 75 % of carbonemissions• More than 75 % of theworld’s naturalresources• Cities mainly dependon the import of finite
material resourcesfrom outside theirboundaries.

A Sustainable economic
development will depend on
DECOUPLING growth fromescalating resource use andensuring equitable distribution of theresulting benefitsUnderstanding urban metabolism
as the key• Cities are complex networks
of interlocked infrastructuresthat represent a web ofinteraction.
• The unique configuration of
cities can give rise to very
different levels of domestic
material consumption (DMC)• The reconfiguration ofurban infrastructures
requires a better
understanding of urban
metabolism
”Material Flow Analysis”(MFA)

Different conception of
Urban infrastructure• Urban infrastructure are “sociotechnical systems” that
determine the nature of flow
and interaction• Urban restructuring therefore
needs to go beyond the focus
on physical construction andtake into account the humandimensions• The transition to sustainableurban infrastructure has
positive impact on-Employment opportunities-Health, Education, Leisure-Environment-Overall quality of lifeModels of sustainable urbantransition
Four models of urban transition:• “Integrated eco-urbanism” e.g. an eco-island, new town,
cluster development;• “urban networkedtechnologies” focus on one
particular technology such as
water or energy;• “systemic urban transitions”
 retrofits of existing urban
infrastructures using an
integrated network approach;• “urban network
infrastructures”  focus on aparticular technology, such asrapid bus transit systems,
water efficiency infrastructures

Opportunities for developing countries• 60 per cent of the built
environment required tomeet the needs of theworld’s urban population by
2050 still needs to beconstructed.
• Developing countries havelow ‘lock-in’ inertia fromexisting unsustainableinfrastructure• These countries therefore
have a higher potential forsustainable urban transition

Recommendations• Environmental sustainability need to beeffectively mainstreamed in urban development
policy frameworks;• Public investments should support
infrastructure that stimulate low-carbon,
resource-efficient and equitable urbandevelopment.
• Cities should set specific targets to use
resources more efficiently and formulate plans toachieve them.
• Relevant micro and city level innovations
need to be actively supported and networked• Private sector need to be engaged in translating
proven innovations into citywide projects.

Case studies
A set of 30 case studies provide
examples of innovative approaches tosustainable infrastructure, covering•Community-based innovations•Municipal initiatives•Green enclaves•Infrastructure alternatives
Waste: Mariannhill landfill site near
Durban, South Africa• Collection and treatment of 30 m3 of
toxic liquid waste from the site before reusing it for irrigation• Generation of 650,000 kwh of electricity
and making US$20,000 per month• On-site tree nursery supporting
indigenous plants and averting potential
biodiversity loss caused by the landfill.

Green Vision for San Jose,USA, 2022
• Create 25,000 clean techjobs
• 50% reduction in percapita energy consumption• 100% renewable energy• 100% recycle or reuse ofwaste water• Build or retrofit 50 million
ft2 of Green buildings• 400 miles of on-street
bikeways• 100% public vehicles run
on alternative fuels

Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization
Mark Swilling (South Africa), Maarten Hajer (The Netherlands),
Blake Robinson (South Africa), Serge Salat (France),
Tim Baynes (Australia), Josephine Musango (South Africa),
Anu Ramaswami (USA), Sangwon Suh (USA),
Joe Bergeson (USA)17